Kuhn disc mower problems

pauldnan

hi,
just wondering if anyone could help me or advise me on a problem I'm having with a Kuhn disc mower as someone might have went through the same issue. bought a Kuhn 7ft disc mower with a heavy bed about 5 years ago second hand but it was in very good condition. never really used it for one reason or another. went to use it last week to top some rushes. it started up fine and sounded good. when I went into the rushes it kept dying. thought the PTO on tractor was shaged so borrowed a friends tractor but his one was worse so it was the PTO the pro lem was in the mower. noticed the belts were a bit loose so tightened them up but after a few seconds the smoke coming from the belts was unreal and melting them. there is obviously something that's too tight or seized but I mowed about 2 acres in first low crawler gear... took me forever so it can't be seized or would have loosened up in that time. I'm puzzled what the problem could be or how to diagnose it as when I put it running its goes fine just dies when I start mowing. help would be appreciated as someone might have had this before. thanks

Zaph

Moved from Forum Requests

Zaph

Zaph wrote: »

Moved from Forum Requests

This is probably better off in farming as this is farm machinery.

At a guess if the belt is rubbing and there is a burning smell some of the pulley bearings are gone. Had this problem with a ride on that was left up. Replaced the pulleys and it was fine. I'm not sure what pulleys are on a disc mower?

pauldnan

thank you very much I will check out the pulley bearings. how can I transfer it to farm machinery

Zaph

There doesn't appear to be a Farm Machinery forum, so I've moved it to Farming & Forestry. Hopefully someone here can help you.

emaherx

Does everything turn easily by hand?
How old are the belts?
Do all of the belts feel about the same tension?
Was it a very heavy crop?

A can of belt adhesive/dressing may help, you just spray it on the belts and the pulleys. But you should be able to turn over the mower easily by hand, if you can't there is an issue.

Sam Kade

pauldnan wrote: »

hi,
just wondering if anyone could help me or advise me on a problem I'm having with a Kuhn disc mower as someone might have went through the same issue. bought a Kuhn 7ft disc mower with a heavy bed about 5 years ago second hand but it was in very good condition. never really used it for one reason or another. went to use it last week to top some rushes. it started up fine and sounded good. when I went into the rushes it kept dying. thought the PTO on tractor was shaged so borrowed a friends tractor but his one was worse so it was the PTO the pro lem was in the mower. noticed the belts were a bit loose so tightened them up but after a few seconds the smoke coming from the belts was unreal and melting them. there is obviously something that's too tight or seized but I mowed about 2 acres in first low crawler gear... took me forever so it can't be seized or would have loosened up in that time. I'm puzzled what the problem could be or how to diagnose it as when I put it running its goes fine just dies when I start mowing. help would be appreciated as someone might have had this before. thanks

Do you loosen the belts during the winter? If they aren't loosened during the winter they won't last long. A mechanic told me that if the belts are slipping rub baby powder onto them.

patsy_mccabe

Does it run ok when running but not cutting? Does it turn freely by hand? Is the bed well packed with grease?
There might be a gear gone in the bed?

larthehar

Is the tractor engine revs dying or is it just the mower that was dying. If was just the mower it would sound like the belts are just slipping. If the tractor is dying you may just work through each section to find what is seized. I wouldn't work it until you find the issue

Sam Kade

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Does it run ok when running but not cutting? Does it turn freely by hand? Is the bed well packed with grease?
There might be a gear gone in the bed?

Or a bearing.

patsy_mccabe

Ya, OP probably better not to run anymore until you get to the bottom of it. Do you know any local mechanic or anyone that could open the bed for you? It should be very obvious then if something is gone.

valtraman

Ideas
are the blades in good condition I think they go on upside down on Kuhn compared to most mowers
are you driving it at 540 rpm
if belts now tight not slipping was it heating up anywhere in particular
hope this is some help

cjpm

Sam Kade wrote: »

Do you loosen the belts during the winter? If they aren't loosened during the winter they won't last long. A mechanic told me that if the belts are slipping rub baby powder onto them.

Good tip with Baby Powder Sam

What should you do if your girlfriend starts smoking during sex?......


....


....


Slow down and use a lubricant

queueeye

If the discs are spinning freely by hand and it's not making an unusually loud noise, the first thing I'd do is get 4 new belts. You say it spins ok till you start mowing and then dies so it seems as though it can't handle volume due to the belts slipping.

Sam Kade

queueeye wrote: »

If the discs are spinning freely by hand and it's not making an unusually loud noise, the first thing I'd do is get 4 new belts. You say it spins ok till you start mowing and then dies so it seems as though it can't handle volume due to the belts slipping.

It could also be a bearing in one of the hubs, same thing happened to me during the summer a bearing went and the mower died when it went into the crop. Check all the discs to make sure they are turning freely.

feartuath

I just mowed 4 acres of heavy rushes with an old vicon mower
I again used talcum powder on the belts after I had to tighten them half way through the job.
If your mower is turning freely and all bearings belts are ok you may have to select a lower gear.
I had to lift the back cover of the mower to stop the rushed blocking and building up within the bed.

White Clover

Op, as others have said, ensure the belts are OK and the mower spins freely by hand.
After that you're problem may be that you are travelling too slow. You need a certain amount of speed to keep the crop cleared off of the bed.

pauldnan

the discs do not turn freely by hand so the problem must be in the mower. the tea for revs don't die. when you say bearings in the the hub whereabouts is the hub situated. thanks for the replys. oh and it struggles in a light crop too

queueeye

pauldnan wrote: »

the discs do not turn freely by hand so the problem must be in the mower. the tea for revs don't die. when you say bearings in the the hub whereabouts is the hub situated. thanks for the replys. oh and it struggles in a light crop too

Each disc is attached to a hub in which there is a bearing. As well as this there are idler gears between the hub gears which may also be at fault. With the mower in the transport position, look for discolouration on the under side of the bed. If there's an obvious difference that's where your problem is.
Failing that you're going to have to take off each hub until you find the seized one. Afaik hub bearings can't be bought from the main dealers separately, you've got to buy the entire hub, bearing included.
Having said all that it may not be a bearing at all but a gear. To examine all the gears you'll need to take off all of the hubs.

pauldnan

queueeye wrote: »

pauldnan wrote: »

the discs do not turn freely by hand so the problem must be in the mower. the tea for revs don't die. when you say bearings in the the hub whereabouts is the hub situated. thanks for the replys. oh and it struggles in a light crop too

Each disc is attached to a hub in which there is a bearing. As well as this there are idler gears between the hub gears which may also be at fault. With the mower in the transport position, look for discolouration on the under side of the bed. If there's an obvious difference that's where your problem is.
Failing that you're going to have to take off each hub until you find the seized one. Afaik hub bearings can't be bought from the main dealers separately, you've got to buy the entire hub, bearing included.
Having said all that it may not be a bearing at all but a gear. To examine all the gears you'll need to take off all of the hubs.

thank you very much for the help. I will do that when I get a chance. thanks again

larthehar

Just to make sure the PTO wasn't connected to the tractor when you checked?
I would take off the belts and see if discs spin freely 1st.. then go at each disc as above.. throw up a few photos here of the the belts abd belt pulleys might help too..

Odelay

queueeye wrote: »

Each disc is attached to a hub in which there is a bearing. As well as this there are idler gears between the hub gears which may also be at fault. With the mower in the transport position, look for discolouration on the under side of the bed. If there's an obvious difference that's where your problem is.
Failing that you're going to have to take off each hub until you find the seized one. Afaik hub bearings can't be bought from the main dealers separately, you've got to buy the entire hub, bearing included.
Having said all that it may not be a bearing at all but a gear. To examine all the gears you'll need to take off all of the hubs.

I would be very suprised if the bearings could not be bought seperate.

Odelay

Odelay wrote: »

I would be very suprised if the bearings could not be bought seperate.

Oh, and to find the bad bearing run it for a couple of minutes with no load, stop and check for heat, very carefully. When you feel heat you know where to dig.

valtraman

I agree with LARTHEHAR take off belts to isolate the stiffness before tearing into the spanner work ,could there be wire or twine lapped around under one of the discs making it stiff to turn ,a few photos would help us diagnose

patsy_mccabe

There's some good videos on YouTube showing a complete rebuild.
I think there's 21 videos in this build. Put on the kettle and put the feet up!

queueeye

valtraman wrote: »

I agree with LARTHEHAR take off belts to isolate the stiffness before tearing into the spanner work ,could there be wire or twine lapped around under one of the discs making it stiff to turn ,a few photos would help us diagnose

Agreed. Rule out all of the easily sorted stuff first before surgery.

148multi

Airplane Man wrote:

Sometimes they can be got at Hardware stores and places that sell gates. You could ask Irish Rail though.

If it is free moving by hand, t

vincenzolorenzo

If a bearing is gone try www.efox.ie. If you have all the dimensions they'll have or be able to get you a bearing to suit

148multi

If moving freely by hand that's good, was the mower stored with the bed up or lying flat, should be flat, after such a period as you mentioned the gear oil in the bed needs to be changed and gear box, not a big job, do not over fill. Khun mowers are renowned for blocking up with a heavy crop, be it rushes or grass. You need to over rev when using the khuns. Now it's bad to over thighen the belts, burn out the bearing. You should have 1/2 an inch play in the belts, I think it's sae 90 gear oil, if the discs turn freely, set the belts, change oil, if there is a grass board on the outside take it off, a lot of khuns around here!!!, some lads sold them because they get blocked easily, had one for years. The bung for draining the bed is in the heel and for filling about 1/3 the length from heel to outside of mower both underneath.

148multi

pauldnan wrote:

hi, just wondering if anyone could help me or advise me on a problem I'm having with a Kuhn disc mower as someone might have went through the same issue. bought a Kuhn 7ft disc mower with a heavy bed about 5 years ago second hand but it was in very good condition. never really used it for one reason or another. went to use it last week to top some rushes. it started up fine and sounded good. when I went into the rushes it kept dying. thought the PTO on tractor was shaged so borrowed a friends tractor but his one was worse so it was the PTO the pro lem was in the mower. noticed the belts were a bit loose so tightened them up but after a few seconds the smoke coming from the belts was unreal and melting them. there is obviously something that's too tight or seized but I mowed about 2 acres in first low crawler gear... took me forever so it can't be seized or would have loosened up in that time. I'm puzzled what the problem could be or how to diagnose it as when I put it running its goes fine just dies when I start mowing. help would be appreciated as someone might have had this before. thanks

Oops, not moving freely with pto off?, I if bearing is gone there should be play in the disc, away from bed, and like previous poster said getting hot in center of disc. Hope it's not too bad.

Sam Kade

Odelay wrote: »

I would be very suprised if the bearings could not be bought seperate.

They can and a lot of different make of mowers use the same bearings. Two bearings on each hub, as someone else said check for heat and if the disc rocks up and down from the bed that's the problem one.

queueeye

Odelay wrote: »

I would be very suprised if the bearings could not be bought seperate.

I said they can't be bought from the main dealer separately, they'll only sell the entire hub. About 400 quid or so if I recall.

patsy_mccabe

If it's Kuhn, it's more than likely a metric bearing. Often the casing of the bearing will have an ID number. Google that and you will see it's full spec.

queueeye

Sam Kade wrote: »

They can and a lot of different make of mowers use the same bearings. Two bearings on each hub, as someone else said check for heat and if the disc rocks up and down from the bed that's the problem one.

I don't know what model Kuhn you have but the hub I've got in my hand at the moment has only one bearing.

pauldnan

thank ye for all the posts. in England working for a few weeks but will get stuck in when I get back as after getting all the information here I know where to start and what to look for. I will post a few pics too.

Sam Kade

queueeye wrote: »

I don't know what model Kuhn you have but the hub I've got in my hand at the moment has only one bearing.

I don't have a kuhn, it's a galfre and I'm after changing so many bearings and getting parts off the man I bought it off from different mowers that he have scrapped. The most of them have two bearings in the hub. If you have it in you hand why don't you throw up a picture of it?